29.4 C
Accra
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Independent AfricaTanzanian firefighters battle blaze on Mount Kilimanjaro

Date:

Tanzanian firefighters battle blaze on Mount Kilimanjaro

 

More than 300 people have been mobilised to tackle a blaze on the slopes of Tanzania’s famous Mount Kilimanjaro, local officials said Saturday, with police and local people helping firefighters.

The fire was burning near the camp Karanga site used by climbers ascending the mountain, at about 4,000 metres altitude on the south side of mountain.

Mount Kilimanjaro, situated in the northeast of the country, is Africa’s highest summit at 5,895 metres (19,340 feet).

Officials have not yet established how the fire started, but it comes exactly two years after another blaze, which raged for a week in October 2020 across 95 square kilometres (37 square miles).

No one was killed in that fire and on Saturday officials said that the current blaze did not threaten any of the tourists on the mountain. Kilimanjaro is popular with both trekkers and mountain climbers.

The fire started on Friday evening and was spread by strong winds during the night, said regional officials. They could not yet say how much ground it covered.

A plane transporting local officials and leading members of the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) for a visit to evaluate the situation was unable to land on Saturday.

“Large clouds and the smoke prevented us from reaching the fire zone,” the prefect of Kilimanjaro, Nurdin Babu, told journalists. “We will try again when the situation improves.”

The chief of the region’s police, Yahaya Mdogo, said that they were focusing on getting the fire under control and could not yet say how big it was or what impact it was having on the population.

But videos posted on social media appeared to show the flames devouring vegetation and giving off thick clouds of grey smoke.

Police, firefighters, students from the local university and even staff from tour operators were working hard to bring the blaze under control, TANAPA said in a brief statement.

Mount Kilimanjaro, with its snow-capped peak, is known around the world.

The forests surrounding it form part of a national park, and Kilimanjaro National Parks is registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, in part because many endangered species live there.

Source: Africa News

[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

Kumasi: Accident on Tech-Oforikrom road kills two

Two individuals have perished in a tragic accident at...

Sawla SHS suspends over 30 students indefinitely for misconduct

More than thirty students from Sawla Senior High School...

People lie about my marriage but I have only 2 wives – Kwaku Oteng

Business mogul and founder of Angel Group of Companies,...

Noguchi commissions state-of-the-art cell sorter to advance health research

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) has...

Uncle Ebo Whyte sets stage for Valentine’s Day with 2 must-watch plays

This Valentine’s season, Roverman Productions, in collaboration with the...

GPL 2024/25: Accra Lions fined GHS5k for misconduct

Ghana Premier League club Accra Lions has been fined...

Charlie Dior, Mzbel question Rev. Charlotte Oduro’s marital advice after divorce

Apostle Solomon Oduro’s announcement of his divorce from Rev....

Related stories

Gunmen ambush bus in Upper East, kills 1 injures 5

A bus traveling from Bawku to Bolgatanga in the...

Ramaphosa defends land reform amid Trump and Musk criticism

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken with billionaire...

Nigeria school fire kills 17 children

At least 17 children lost their lives after a...

New Ebola outbreak confirmed by Uganda’s health authorities

Uganda's health authorities have confirmed a new Ebola outbreak...